


Migas and Unicorns

by nachocheese26



Series: The Gangsitter [8]
Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: Brio - Freeform, F/M, Gen, Rio gives in to the Boland kids, but really all the Boland kids have him wrapped around their finger, especially Jane
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:41:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23603977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nachocheese26/pseuds/nachocheese26
Summary: It was an exhausting night and Rio is just wanting some comfort food from his mom. He didn't sign up to have a day full of thoughts that made him question everything.
Relationships: Beth Boland/Rio
Series: The Gangsitter [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1494128
Comments: 31
Kudos: 254





	Migas and Unicorns

**Author's Note:**

> A new installment!! After too much time has passed. Just a heads-up for this one, it's highly recommended you read the second chapter of Las Mananitas.
> 
> I had a lot of fun with this one and it was just so nice to finally get back into a writing groove. I've got some more ideas that I'm wanting to explore, but if you lovelies have any suggestions, let me know and maybe I can come up with something!
> 
> Hope you all enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Let me know what you think!! 💕💕💕

Beth checked her phone for the twentieth time within the past five minutes. No messages and the time was still the same as last she checked.

The doctor assured her it was only going to take twenty minutes and then another ten minutes for them to take Emma back to her room and get her settled. Within twenty-five minutes, Beth could be right by Emma again.

Of course, that was only if nothing went wrong.

Beth closed her eyes and took a deep breath, dispelling that thought. This was a common procedure. Nothing would go wrong. Emma had been preparing for this for the last two week. They all had been preparing for this for the last two weeks.

She opened her eyes and looked around the waiting room. A few other parents were there, some with other children waiting on another sibling.

Then she looked to the row where she was sitting.

Empty, except for her.

When the doctor told them Emma would need her tonsils removed, her and Dean came up with a plan. No, they would not bring the rest of the kids with them. Dean’s mom would look after them and they would _both_ be by Emma’s side when she got out of surgery.

This was a big thing for Emma and she would need both of her parents with her.

This morning though, when Beth was gathering everything together and trying to make sure all the kids had pants on and food in the stomachs, Dean called her.

 _“Hey,”_ he said, extending the ‘y’.

Beth closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “You aren’t coming,” she stated through clenched teeth, turning her back so the kids couldn't see the ill-concealed anger on her face.

Apparently, he had a stomach bug and was up all last night throwing up. He told her he had actually just gotten through throwing up before calling her too.

She supposed that excuse would do.

“Okay, I’ll still leave the kids with your mom then.”

_“About that…”_

He forgot to ask his mom to watch the kids. The stomach bug, Beth could forgive. But Dean forgetting to make sure his mom could watch the kids? Beth could feel the fury rising.

Dean apologized, but Beth hung up on him. Not before telling him to make sure to stay hydrated though. When she called his mom, she told Beth she already had plans for the day.

She was going antiquing with some of her ‘old gals’.

 _“Why? Is everything all right with the children?”_ she asked.

And Beth could hear the subtle dig in that question. “No, they’re fine. Everything’s fine.” Beth ended the call without giving an actual explanation of why she had called in the first place.

Now, she had to scramble to find someone who could watch the kids because she could not imagine having to stay almost all day at the hospital with the other three kids.

Of course, Ruby and Annie were busy today. For a half second, Beth considered asking Rio. He was great with the kids and they loved him, no matter how odd that made her feel.

But she remembered seeing him the day before, dropping off some cleaned cash for him. He was preoccupied. Something was going on and she was almost certain it had to do with work. But he clammed up when she asked and cut their meeting short.

So asking him was out of the question.

She scrolled through her contacts, trying to find someone who could stay with the kids all day.

As she went down to the R’s, she paused, staring down at a name and wondering if maybe she could ask her.

Rosie.

She did tell Beth that she would be willing to watch the kids anytime, that they would be no trouble at all.

She hit call and held her breath, almost wishing that Rosie wouldn’t answer.

Rosie answered on the third ring.

Her bright voice filled Beth’s ear. _“Elizabeth! Good morning! How are you doing, mija?”_

Before Beth could even finish explaining the situation, Rosie accepted, even going as far as saying they could even spend the night if they wanted to.

“Oh, no, I’m not going to be that long. I probably won’t be able to pick them up until evening though.”

_“If you say so. But I really would not mind at all.”_

Part of Beth wanted to take Rosie up on that offer. She could focus all of her attention on Emma,

But she still refused.

When she told the kids who they were going to spend the day with, they were thrilled.

And of course the main question they asked was: Would Rio and Marcus be there?

They were disappointed when she told them probably not, but that didn’t completely dampen their spirits. Kenny and Danny said they hoped Marcus’ cousins would be there. They were fun to play with. Jane asked if she could play with them and promised that she wouldn’t cry if they started wrestling.

All the while, Emma pouted, upset that she would miss out on the fun.

Beth did a quick drop off, knowing she was going to end up being at least five minutes late to the hospital. She hoped that wouldn't somehow push back the surgery. She thanked Rosie and told her to call her if the kids were acting up or anything of the sort.

Rosie waved away her comment. “Trust me, I am not going to have any trouble with them at all.”

Nearly four hours later, Emma had been rolled into surgery, with Beth promising her that she was going to be okay and she would be right there when she woke up. And she hadn’t heard a word from Rosie.

Beth assumed that was a good thing.

She prayed it was at least.

* * *

Rio pulled into the driveway and parked his car. He glanced at his reflection, already seeing how bloodshot his eyes were.

His mom was going to give him hell when she how he looked.

But it was just part of the job and honestly, last night had been a long one. And a hard one too. He found out there was another mole. He took care of it last night.

And every time he had to take care of a mole, Rio always went to his mom’s the next day for a plate of migas, his favorite breakfast meal growing up. The way the tortillas were always perfectly crispy and the seasoning she added to the eggs. If he was lucky, she might even have some salsa already made.

A small comfort when his job required him to do hard things.

He made sure he didn’t have any lingering blood on him before stepping out of the car and walking up to the front door.

As he was just about to reach for the doorknob, the door swung open.

“Rio!”

There was a clatter of something falling and a small body pressed into his legs.

He looked down to see Jane Boland staring up at him with a wide smile. “I knew you were going to come!”

Rio blinked and for half a second, he wondered if he was at the right house. Did he really drive all the way to Elizabeth’s house? But he quickly looked around and confirmed that he was at his mom’s house.

Except Jane was here. And if he listened, he could hear Kenny and Danny too. “What are you doin’ here lil’ bit?” he glanced around, not seeing Elizabeth’s van anywhere.

Jane let go of him to bend down and pick up what she had dropped. A bucket of sidewalk chalk. “Mommy’s at the hospital with Emma.”

Rio frowned, feeling worry bubbling in his stomach. “The hospital? Everything good?” He bent down as well, helping Jane pick up the chalk.

Jane looked at Rio with serious eyes. “Kenny says that they’re going to tear open Emma’s throat and take her tongue out and she’ll never be able to talk again.”

Rio bit the inside of his cheek, trying to keep from smiling. Jane obviously believed this was exactly what was going to happen, but he was sure it wasn’t as serious as Kenny made it out to be. The worry in his stomach subsided.

He wondered why she didn’t mention anything the last time they saw each other. Didn’t she know that he’d want to know?

The thought made him pause. Why did he want to know about the kids of one of his business partners?

“Can you help me draw on the sidewalk, Rio?” Jane asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“Later. I gotta talk with my mom first. But I need you to do something for me.”

“What?” Jane asked, a curious look in her eyes.

“You gotta call me Christopher while you’re here. And you need to tell your brothers too. I’m not Rio right now. I’m Christopher.”

Jane frowned. “Why?”

“Because Rio is my secret name. Not even my mom knows about it. So you gotta call me Christopher. Think you can do that?”

Jane quickly nodded and ran back inside with the chalk. “Christopher’s here!” she exclaimed as Rio followed right behind her.

Once inside, he saw Kenny and Danny in the kitchen with Rosie. She had them working in the kitchen with her. The three of them looked up, Rosie with a smile and Kenny and Danny with small frowns

Kenny opened his mouth most likely to correct Jane, but Rosie spoke first “Christopher! I wasn’t expecting you. How are you?”

Rio gave her a hug, watching as Jane ran up to her brothers and whispered something. The two boys nodded and Rio was sure they would call him Christopher. At least around Rosie. “And I wasn’t expecting to see Elizabeth’s kids here,” Rio countered, letting go of Rosie and looking to see what the boys were doing.

Kenny was cutting up tortillas and Danny was whisking eggs. Rio looked to Rosie with a grin. “You got ‘em makin’ migas?”

Rosie nodded, resting a hand on her hip. “They’ve never had it, so of course I’m making it for them.” She went to the fridge and pulled out a few more corn tortillas and three more eggs. “Do you want some?”

Rio nodded, taking a seat and not even blinking when Jane climbed her way onto his lap. “So what are they doin’ here anyways?” Rio asked.

“Emma’s getting her tongue taken out,” Danny repeated the story Jane had told him.

He noticed Kenny ducking his head a little, trying stifle a laugh as he finished cutting up the tortillas.

Rosie clicked her tongue. “That’s not what they’re doing. She’s getting her tonsils removed over at the children’s hospital. Y ese pendejo de un ex que ella tiene ni recordó a preguntar a la abuela si ella puede cuidar los,” Rosie finished in Spanish. _And that fucker of an ex she has didn't even remember to ask the grandma if she could watch them._

Rio scoffed. Nothing Dean did at this point surprised him. But he still raised an eyebrow at Rosie's language. She almost never used the word 'pendejo' unless she absolutely did not like the person she was referring to. “Y porque el no los esta cuidando?” Rio asked, not wanting the kids to understand him either. _And why isn't he watching them?_

“Dijo que segun se enfermo. Pero Dios sabe.” Rosie held up her hands. _She said that supposedly he's sick. But only God knows._

He noticed the kids giving them curious looks. He jumped his leg a little, jostling Jane and making her smile. “Y’all are gonna have to learn Spanish if you plan on comin’ around here more often.”

“Just have them watch _Sabado Gigante_ with me. They’ll pick it up in no time.”

Rio grinned, remember that show from his childhood. That show made absolutely no sense. God, it felt like forever since he saw that show. Was the host of it even still alive?

Rosie turned back to the boys, grabbing the diced tortillas and tossing them into a pan with hot oil. She explained the process to them, that the tortillas needed to cook for just a little bit, not too soft, but not totally crunchy before adding eggs.

Danny left his station, joining Rio and Jane at the table. He made a point to lift his eyebrows as he referred to Rio as Christopher. Rio just smirked at him, continuing to listen to Jane’s story of…

Actually, he wasn’t entirely sure what Jane’s story was about. He had stopped listening for five seconds and suddenly she was talking about a robot invasion. How did that even relate to her getting ready for her dance recital?

The migas were finally done and Rosie filled the plates while Kenny set them on the table. Rio placed Jane into her own seat and soon they were all gathered at the table, eating the breakfast. Halfway through, Rio realized he forgot to ask his mom if she had any salsa. It was okay though. The food was delicious and he was smiling almost the entire time, listening to the three Boland’s talk over each other with a comment from Rosie thrown in every now and then.

Rio almost forgot about what he had done last night.

Once finished, Danny and Kenny ran off to the living room to watch TV while Jane tried convincing one of them to go outside with her to draw with the chalk.

Rio sat at the table with his mom, drinking the cup of coffee she insisted on giving him. “Elizabeth say what time the surgery was?”

Rosie added some sugar to her coffee. “Right at noon.” She glanced up at the clock on the wall. “Ay Dios mio, we had a super late breakfast!”

It was already 12:10.

Rosie gathering the dishes, mumbling to herself that she needed to get lunch started.

Rio got up too, rolling up his sleeves and began helping Rosie wash the dishes. Rosie pulled out some chicken from the freezer and set it in a bowl for it to defrost. “Are you going to stay for lunch?”

Rio smirked. “Ama, we just had breakfast.”

“I know, but by the time the food is actually ready, everyone’s going to be hungry.”

“Nah, I gotta take care of some things,” Rio lied. He, in fact, had nothing to do the rest of the day. But he was positive one of his brothers would show up with their kids. Hell, Charlie lived right next door. He was surprised he hadn’t come over despite Rio’s car parked outside. With the Boland kids here, the teasing would be brutal.

Rio wasn’t really in the mood to deal with it.

Rosie clicked her tongue. “You can’t stay for a little bit?”

“They turn out to be more of a handful than you expected?”

Rosie narrowed her eyes. “No. I’m just saying, they love you, Christopher.”

Rio scoffed at that.

Rosie crossed her arms. “That little girl was sitting on your lap and looking at you as if you hung the moon in the sky. And don’t you forget that I had four boys of my own. I know how boys look at other men that they admire. They all look up to you.”

“They shouldn’t,” Rio mumbled, remembering the way his arm jerked a little from the backfire of the gun.

Rosie threw up her hands. “What do I always say? You should’ve been an actor with how dramatic you always are.”

Rio turned off the faucet, dried off his hands, and placed them on Rosie’s shoulders. “I’m leaving, Mom. I’ll see you later.” He pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head and moved to walk out of the kitchen.

But once he stepped past Rosie, Jane was standing right there.

“You’re leaving already?” Jane asked quietly, staring up at him with her wide eyes that reminded him so much of Elizabeth.

“Yeah, I gotta get goin’,” he said, squatting down to her level and pretending like he didn’t hear his knees popping as he did so.

“But you just got here.”

“I know, but I gotta-“

“Can I come?!” Jane’s face brightened a little at the thought.

When Rio shook his head, her face immediately fell. “No, your mama left you here with Miss Rosie. You gotta stay here.”

“But I wanna go with you! Mommy won’t be mad.”

Rio looked over his shoulder, wondering if his mom would intervene.

Rosie was poking the frozen chicken, purposefully ignoring the entire conversation.

Jane was still staring at him with her big eyes and…

Shit, who was he kidding? He couldn’t say no to her.

“A’ight fine.”

Jane jumped, leaning over to quickly hug Rio’s neck before letting go to tell her brothers the news.

When Rio straightened, Rosie was looking at him with a smug smile. “You know if you take her, you’re going to have to take the boys too.”

Rio shook his head. “No, they’ll be fine. They aren’t gonna want-“

“What?! Just you?! I want to go too!”

“Me too!”

Kenny and Danny interrupted Rio before he could say the boys wouldn’t want to come.

Rosie laughed. “What did I tell you?”

“Fine, everyone get your stuff. We’re leavin’,” Rio called out, ignoring the laughter from his mom.

They were ready in record time. Rio made sure they said goodbye to Rosie and thanked her for watching them. He quickly ushered them into his car, hoping they could get out of there before Charlie heard them.

And soon enough, Rio was pulling out of the driveway and not having a clue of where he would take them. “A’ight, where we goin’?” he asked, glancing at them as he came to a stop sign.

“Can we go see Emma?” Jane asked. “I want to make sure she still has her tongue.”

“Oh, I bet she’s going to be coming off of that laughing gas! Let’s go see her, please?!” Kenny exclaimed.

Danny gave no protests, nodding along in agreement with the decision.

Rio glanced at the time. 12:20. By the time they made it to the hospital, Emma would most likely be settled into a recovery room and maybe even awake.

“Just for a little bit,” Rio said, crossing the intersection and heading towards the children’s hospital.

* * *

The nurse looked up at Rio, her eyes narrowing slightly, before looking down to the kids, then back up at him. “Can I help you?”

Danny answered before Rio could even open his mouth. “We want to see our sister, Emma Boland.”

Rio pushed his shoulders back a little and stood straighter as the nurse continued staring at him. “That’s Emma Boland,” Rio repeated. “She got her tonsils removed.”

The nurse’s eyes then wandered the balloon Rio held, the same one Jane insisted on getting. A huge unicorn balloon that said, ‘Get well soon!’ She then turned to her computer, typed something out, then looked back to them. “She’s in room 651.”

Jane bounced up and down, said a quick thank you and took off running down the hallway.

Rio was fast enough though and grabbed her hand before she could run off too far.

“Can I have your phone?”

Rio looked at Kenny with a frown. “No.”

“Oh, come on! I want to record Emma coming off the laughing gas!”

Rio gave a small sigh, fishing his phone out of his pocket and handing it to Kenny, making sure he went straight to the camera instead of looking through anything else.

Kenny started recording, giving a small narration of what they were doing. Danny looked back at him and gave him a weird look. Kenny ignored his look and continued what he was doing.

Rio held Jane’s hand the entire time, making sure she didn’t attempt to take off running down the hallway again. But he could feel the nervous energy radiating off of her. He gave her hand a small squeeze. She looked down at their hands, then up at him. And she seemed to take a deep breath and smiled.

The door to Emma’s room was open and even before the stood in the doorway, they could hear Emma laughing.

“She’s on the laughing gas!” Kenny exclaimed, gripping the phone tightly with excitement.

Kenny and Danny ran into the room and Rio finally let go of Jane’s hand as she followed after her brothers.

Rio leaned on the door frame, watching Elizabeth stare at her kids in the confusion, then finally looking up to see him there.

Her confusion only seemed to grow.

“Hey Emma! Say something for the camera!” Kenny said, focusing the camera on her.

Emma laughed and mumbled some kind of gibberish.

Rio walked into the room, still holding the balloon. “Kids wanted to see her,” he said with a shrug.

Elizabeth blinked, glanced up at the huge unicorn balloon he held, then looked back at him. She opened her mouth to say something, but Emma interrupted.

In a hoarse voice, Emma cried out, “Daddy!”

Both Rio and Elizabeth whipped their heads around to stare at Emma.

She was sitting up in bed, staring at Rio with a wide and dazed smile on her face and her arms reaching out for him.

“Daddy!” Emma exclaimed again. “You made it!”

Rio blinked, trying to figure out how to correct her, but then he remembered Kenny was recording this whole thing and-

“Oh, baby, no, you gotta lay down,” a nurse said as she walked into the room with a clipboard.

Emma didn’t resist as the nurse pushed her gently back down on the bed. “But I wanna give Daddy a hug.”

The nurse just nodded, giving Rio a reassuring smile. “And I’m sure Daddy’s going to come right over and give you a big ol’ hug. And look at that balloon he got you! Oh girl, you got your daddy wrapped around your little finger, don’t you?”

Elizabeth finally found her voice. “Oh, he’s not actually-“

But Rio stepped towards Emma’s bed and tied the balloon on one of the rails. “Here you go, lil’ mama,” he said, cutting off Elizabeth’s explanation. “Jane picked it out.”

Emma smiled up at Rio in her dream state. Then she giggled before her eyes went wide in terror. “Johnny’s flying away!” She followed something with her eyes that only she could see, then her face relaxed. “Oh, he’s just on unicorn now.”

The nurse checked a few things, answered some of Jane’s question, reassured her that Emma still had her tongue, then turned to Rio and Elizabeth. “Everything’s good. The doctor will be coming in about few hours, make sure everything’s good and then she can go home. He’ll give you a prescription for the pain meds and some more instruction on caring for her at home. Any questions?”

Elizabeth numbly shook her head and the nurse smiled at them before leaving the room.

Kenny, of course, was still recording the entire thing. Rio took the phone from him, ignoring his cries of protest. “Oh come on! I was still recording!”

“Not anymore,” Rio growled, shutting off the recording and immediately deleting the video.

Kenny began protesting more, but Emma began speaking nonsense again and it grabbed Kenny’s attention.

And finally, Rio turned to look at Elizabeth.

She had been looking at him too, but once their eyes finally met, her eyes darted away, looking everywhere _but_ him. “Rio, I-“

Rio took a few steps closer, close enough that she could hear him talk without the other kids eavesdropping. “Video’s deleted and she’s on drugs. Never happened.”

Elizabeth looked up. “Yeah, but the kids…” she trailed off, looking at how they were crowded around Emma, laughing at everything she said.

“They’ll forget.”

She laughed wryly. “No they won’t.”

Rio chuckled, rubbing a hand through his closely cropped hair. “Nope,” he said, adding a little pop to the ‘p’.

Elizabeth swallowed hard, then looked back at him. “What are you even doing here with them?”

“Why were they at my mama’s house?”

Elizabeth crossed her arms. “She offered to watch them.”

Rio smirked. “Yeah, but how’d you even get her number?”

“She was the one that messaged me. I don’t know how she got it.”

Rio ran his tongue over his teeth. He thought back to the first time Rosie met Elizabeth, at that surprise party they had for him. How after she left, Rio’s phone disappeared. Did his mom actually steal his phone to get her number?

“Dean is-“

“I don’t care,” Rio interrupted.

Elizabeth pursed her lips.

Rio let out a quick breath. “You need anythin’? Want some food for somethin'’?”

She shook her head. “No, I’ll just get something from the cafeteria here.”

Rio gave a small nod, then cleared his throat. “I’ll take ‘em already then.”

“Tell your mom that I’ll be by to pick them up probably around six.”

Rio shook his head. “Nah. I’ll watch ‘em.”

Elizabeth blinked. “You don’t have to.”

Rio shrugged his shoulders. “I know.”

He clapped his hands together, grabbing the attention of the kids. “We’re leavin’. Start sayin’ your goodbyes.”

Kenny and Danny just waved at Emma and gave Elizabeth a quick hug. Jane took the longest, giving Emma a long hug and trying to pry open her mouth just to make sure her tongue was still in there. Rio picked her up, preventing her from climbing all over Emma.

As he did, Emma grabbed his arm and smiled up at him. “Bye Daddy,” she said, blinking slowly at him.

Jane giggled in his arms, but Rio ignored her. Instead, he bent down, pressed a quick kiss to Emma’s forehead. “I’m not your dad,” he said softly enough that only Emma could hear him.

He carried Jane still, bringing her close to Elizabeth so she could give her mom a hug and a kiss while still in his arms.

And Rio would later blame it on his lack of sleep. But once Jane had given Elizabeth a hug and a kiss, Rio actually leaned forward and gave Elizabeth a quick peck on the lips. So quick that not even Jane caught it. "See you at home." The words rolled off his tongue as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

He didn't notice how Elizabeth's face flushed. Or how she pressed her fingers to her lips, as if wondering if that had actually happened.

It wasn't until he was in the hallway again, walking with the kids towards the elevator that he realized what had happened.

 _Shit_.

* * *

Rio almost took the kids back to his mom’s house, just to eat whatever lunch she had prepared. But he was sure at least one of his brothers would be there and for him to show up with the Boland kids? That sounded like a terrible idea. Instead, he took them out to eat then brought them to the park to run around and get some energy out before taking them back home and getting them settled before Elizabeth came back with Emma.

Half an hour after getting to the park, Danny came up to the bench he was sitting at, wiping sweat from his forehead and sat next to Rio, breathing hard and watching Kenny and Jane continue playing.

Rio reached for a water bottle he had bought at the restaurant and handed it to Danny. “You good?”

Danny nodded, finishing half the bottle. He sat quietly next to Rio, catching his breath for a few moments before breaking the silence.

“You aren’t our dad.”

Rio winced internally. Elizabeth was right. They weren’t ever going to forget that, were they? “No, I’m not,” Rio responded.

“So why’d Emma call you daddy?”

Rio shrugged. “She just got confused. That medicine she was on makes her say crazy things.”

Danny furrowed his brows in thought. “Where is our dad?” he asked.

“Don’t know. Heard he was sick.”

Danny took another sip of water. “Sometimes I think you help Mom more than our dad.”

Rio looked at Danny with a quirked eyebrow. “That so?”

Danny nodded, still watching the other kids playing.

It looked as if Danny was going to add more, but then Jane squealed and held up her hand. “Danny! I found a worm!!”

Danny jumped off the bench and ran towards Jane as if she had announced she found some exotic animal.

And he left Rio with thoughts he didn’t want to think.

Those thoughts were interrupted though when he got a message from Mick.

He read the message twice before slipping his phone back into his pocket. Now he had more important things to think about than Emma calling him 'Daddy' or the small kiss he gave to Elizabeth as if it were second nature.

* * *

Beth was both ready to go home and never wanted to leave the hospital. To say that it was awkward when Rio showed up that afternoon was putting it lightly. It was made even worse when Dean facetimed and Emma refused to even look at him.

At that point, the pain meds had already worn off and she was in a bad mood because of the pain.

“You don’t want to talk to your dad?” Beth asked, holding the phone up for her to grab.

Emma crossed her arms and turned her face away so Beth couldn’t get her face on the camera. “No,” Emma grumbled. “Why didn’t he come?”

Her question was directed towards Beth, but Dean answered. _“I really wanted to kiddo, but I got sick.”_

Still, Emma refused to talk to him.

Beth should’ve ended the call, but she still tried to get Emma to talk to him.

The one thing Emma did end up saying was, “Rio was here.”

Beth was grateful the camera wasn’t facing her so Dean couldn’t see her struggling to come up with an explanation.

“He got me my unicorn balloon.”

 _“Is that so,”_ he deadpanned.

Emma refused to say anything else. Instead, she let out a small whine, and brought her hand up to rub her throat.

Beth caught her hand before she could apply to much pressure. “Leave it alone, honey.” Then turning the camera back to her, she did he best to carry on as if Emma hadn’t even mentioned Rio. “I gotta go. The little patient here needs some extra attention.”

_“How long was he there?”_

“Who?” Beth tried playing dumb.

Dean narrowed his eyes, but then his face scrunched up into a wince and became pale.

“Looks like you need to go.”

_“I’ll come by the house to see her later.”_

The call ended and Beth was grateful to have some time to come up with some kind of explanation.

But then, Dean didn’t really deserve an explanation, did he? No. Rio was…he likes the kids, and he brought Emma’s siblings to visit her and it didn’t matter what Dean thought.

And even though she decided she didn’t owe Dean an explanation, part of her was still trying to come up with one. Why was Rio constantly showing up and doing things like this? Why did the kids like him so much? Why had Emma even referred to him as ‘Daddy’? Why did he give her such a quick kiss and say he would see her at home as if they shared the place?

Those thoughts continued swirling around Beth’s mind, even as she pulled up to the driveway of the house.

A new thought had started mingling in though.

Maybe she and Rio could figure out the explanation. Together.

She carried Emma out of the van, shushing her gently every time she gave a complaint about the pain. The doctor gave strict instructions on the pain medication and Emma still had two more hours to go before her next dose.

When she walked in, she saw the kids sitting in the living room with Rio, watching Frozen 2. Rio wasn’t actually watching the movie. Instead, he was looking down at his phone, his jaw so tightly clenched, it made Beth’s own jaw hurt.

They kids turned their full attention to Beth and Emma, jumping up and exclaiming that they were so glad she was back and was she still on the laughing gas and open her mouth so they could compare mouths.

Rio just glanced up at her, then turned his attention back to his phone.

Beth felt an odd clench in her stomach. What had she expected? A bright smile, accompanied with another quick kiss and a 'welcome home, darling'?

Ignoring it, she set Emma down and told her to go ahead and go upstairs to her room. Then she made sure the kids wouldn’t follow after her and let Emma get some rest.

So they told her everything they did, where they ate, how long they were at the park, that this was their second time watching Frozen 2 and Jane wouldn’t let them change it at all and Rio told them they had to work it out on their own.

Finally, Rio had stood and joined them where they were gathered around Beth. She glanced at him, still noticing the hard look on his face. “Did you guys eat dinner yet?”

They shook their heads at the same time Rio said, “Got some salmon in the oven. Should be ready in a few minutes. Which means you three need to go wash up already.”

They listened to him without arguing, running up the stairs and Beth couldn’t help a small wince, hoping they didn’t decide to bother Emma.

Once they were out of earshot, Beth turned to Rio with a smile, hoping to loosen that hard look on his face. “You’re staying for dinner too, right?”

Rio shook his head. The hard look had eased some, but it was still there in his eyes.

For a half second, Beth thought it might have something to do with what happened at the hospital.

“Gotta take care of somethin’,” he said, before Beth could think of a million other reasons why he was choosing not to stay for dinner.

Looking at him, Beth could now see the bags under his eyes.

Rio looked exhausted.

“Is everything all right?”

Rio gave a quick nod. Then he took a deep breath, looked down at the ground for a moment, then back up to meet her eyes. “I’m gonna have to take a step back.”

She frowned a little, actually expecting him to take a step back.

He wasn’t talking about physically though.

Beth felt the clenching in her stomach grow. “Is everything okay?” she asked quietly.

Rio gave a wry smile. “I’m gonna make sure it is.”

“Can I help?”

He shook his head quickly, the smile dropping from his face. “You need to stay out of it.” And as if he could see the protests forming in her mind, he added. “For those kids, you need to stay out of it.”

Beth pursed her lips. For the first time in a very long time, she remembered exactly how dangerous this man that stood in front of her was.

And he was now such a big part of their lives that one of her kids mistakenly called him ‘daddy’.

“How long then?’

Rio shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Tellin’ Marcus’ mom to keep him for a month.”

Beth nodded, already coming up with little lies when the kids asked why Rio wasn’t coming around so much.

Making Beth realize how often they had started seeing him now.

“Thanks for taking care of them today and…what happened at the hospital-“

“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about,” Rio said with a small smirk.

Beth let out a small breath. “I guess I’ll see you later then.”

Rio nodded once, then walked past her to the door. But not before giving her arm a light squeeze.

Once the door closed behind him, Beth let out an even heavier breath. So much for working together on coming up with an explanation on whatever it was that was going on between them.

Kenny was the first one to come running down the stairs. He looked at Beth first, then around the house, and finally back to her. “Where did Rio go?”

The little lies to her kids would be starting now though.

* * *

Rio hadn’t even completely shut the front door before he was in his kitchen and making himself some black tea. It was now twenty hours since he last slept and he was almost positive he would have to go a few more hours without sleep.

Turns out the mole he took care of was much more than a mole. Now he had a growing mess on his hands that required his immediate attention. Business was going to suffer, but he would still make sure his own were taken care of.

And that included Elizabeth and her kids.

Once he got the water in the kettle warming up, Rio went back to the front door, made sure it was locked completely and pulled out his phone.

First, he checked to make sure he hadn’t missed any messages or phone calls. Then, he went to his photo library and opened it to the ‘trash’ folder. Where everything he deleted was stored for a month before erasing permanently.

Kenny’s video was the first thing that showed in that folder.

And Rio tapped it.

There was no way Kenny should ever be allowed to pursue cinematography with how much the video shook as he moved or talked.

Rio still watched the video, leaning on his kitchen counter with one hand holding the phone and the other propping up his chin. He smiled as it finally showed Emma, goofy smile and dazed look in her eyes. He finally caught the conversation they had with her when they first walked into the room. He could barely understand a word of what she was saying, but did manage to catch Jane’s urgent questioning of whether or not she still had her tongue.

Then the fateful moment when Emma sat up, stretched out her arms for him, and called him ‘Daddy’.

Kenny immediately pointed the camera to Rio and Elizabeth.

They were both wearing the same shell-shocked expression.

And Rio found himself laughing alone in his quiet loft just as the kettle began whistling with the boiling water.

**Author's Note:**

> Quick explanation: Migas (might have a different name, depending on what region of Mexico you're in, but this is what I always grew up calling them) is basically just scrambled eggs with corn tortillas. You can add onions and tomatoes, but personally, I'm usually too lazy to actually cut up the onions and tomatoes. But it's just so good and is definitely a staple in Mexican homes.
> 
> Also, is there a preference for how Spanish is incorporated into the stories? I head canon that Rio's family switches back and forth a whole lot and would just like to know what's better, to just write it in and put the translations in the author's note or to just write the translation after what's been said? Or maybe even something else that I haven't even considered!


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